High friction modular floor covering

ABSTRACT

A sports court can include a set of modular floor panels or tiles that are interconnected with each other and that have material compositions configured to provide increased friction when a ball or other game piece comes into contact with the top surface of the panels or tiles. The sports court can be used to decrease the speed or otherwise affect bounce behavior of a game ball as compared to a concrete slab or similar underlying surface on which the floor panels are positioned, thereby giving the court performance characteristics more similar to a conventional court used for ball sports such as tennis and pickleball and that are improved as compared to conventional rigid floor tiles. The material compositions can include rubberized or elastomeric materials with coefficients of friction measured using standardized testing procedures.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to floor tiles and modularground coverings, and more particularly to modular floor systems withhigh friction for ball sports such as tennis and pickleball.

BACKGROUND

Floor tiles have traditionally been used for many different purposes,including both aesthetic and utilitarian purposes. For example, floortiles of a particular color may be used to accentuate an objectdisplayed on top of the tiles. Alternatively, floor tiles may be used tosimply protect the surface beneath the tiles from various forms ofdamage. Floor tiles typically comprise individual panels that are placedon the ground either permanently or temporarily depending on theapplication. A permanent application may involve adhering the tiles tothe floor in some way, whereas a temporary application would simplyinvolve setting the tiles on the floor. Some floor tiles can beinterconnected to one another to cover large floor areas such as agarage, an office, a sports court, or a show floor.

Various interconnection systems have been utilized to connect floortiles horizontally with one another to maintain structural integrity andprovide a desirable, unified appearance. In addition, floor tiles can bemanufactured in many shapes, colors, and patterns. Some floor tilescontain holes such that fluid and small debris is able to pass throughthe floor tiles and onto a surface below. Tiles can also be equippedwith special surface patterns or structures to provide varioussuperficial or useful characteristics.

One method of making plastic floor tiles utilizes an injection moldingprocess. Injection molding involves injecting heated liquid plastic intoa mold. The mold is shaped to provide an enclosed space to form thedesired shaped floor tile. The liquid plastic is allowed to cool andsolidify, and the plastic floor tile is removed from the mold.

When floor tiles are used in sports playing areas and courts for sportssuch as tennis, pickleball, and other racquet sports where the ballfrequently comes into contact with the court, the highly rigid andsmooth floor tiles can have a significant effect on the restitution ofthe ball, thereby causing the ball to bounce with unexpected speed orheight. Thus, the floor tiles do not effectively reproduce the gameexperience provided by a conventional court made of asphalt, concrete,and other non-plastic materials.

For this and other reasons, there is a constant need for improvements inthe field of modular flooring, particularly in the field of flooring forsports playing areas.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a sports systemcomprising a rigid support surface, a rigid floor tile positioned on therigid support surface, and a game piece configured to come into contactwith the rigid floor tile while playing a game with the sport system.The game piece or the rigid floor tile can comprise a materialcomposition causing a first coefficient of friction between a game pieceand the rigid floor tile to be greater than a second coefficient offriction between the game piece and the rigid support surface.

In some embodiments the sport system can further comprise a plurality ofadditional rigid floor tiles having the material composition and beingarranged in the shape of a pickleball court or a playing area for avariety of other sports. The sports system can also include a set ofvisual indicators defining boundaries of the court on the plurality ofrigid floor tiles. In an example embodiment of the sport system, thegame piece can comprise a pickleball, the first coefficient of frictioncan be at least 0.47 under European Standard EN 13865, the rigid floortile can be attached to the plurality of additional rigid floor tiles,and the rigid floor tile can comprise a plurality of support legs incontact with the rigid support surface.

Additionally, the floor tile and the game piece can both comprise thematerial composition. The game piece can be substantially rigid andsubstantially spherical. The sport system can have a materialcomposition that comprises copolymer propylene, a silica material, and agrip-enhancing material. The first coefficient of friction between thegame piece and the rigid floor tile can be at least 0.47 under EuropeanStandard EN 13865.

Another aspect of the disclosure relates to a modular floor tilecomprising a tile body. The tile body may include a plurality ofopenings extending through the tile body, an outer perimeter, aplurality of interlockable edge features positioned around the outerperimeter, a substantially planar upward-facing surface, a plurality ofsupport legs extending downward relative to the upward-facing surface tocontact a planar support service beneath the tile body, and a partiallyrubberized or elastomeric material composition at the upward facingsurface.

In some cases, the material composition comprises copolymerpolypropylene, a silica material (e.g., glass-oxide), and agrip-enhancing material. The material composition can include about 45to about 65 percent copolymer polypropylene, about 15 to about 35percent silica material, and about 5 to about 25 percent of thegrip-enhancing material. In some embodiments, the material compositioncomprises about 50 percent to about 60 percent polypropylene, about 20percent to about 40 percent silica material, and about 10 percent toabout 20 percent of the grip-enhancing material. The coefficient offriction of the material composition of the modular floor tile can be atleast 0.47 under European Standard EN 13865. The coefficient ofrestitution at the upward facing surface can be about 0.8 under EuropeanStandard EN 13865. The angle out measurement at the upward facingsurface can be about 15.9 under European Standard EN 13865. Furthermore,the court pace rating of the tile body can be less than about 62, andthe material composition can reduce bounce force by at least 5 percent.

In yet another aspect of the disclosure, a sports court is provided witha plurality of interlocking tiles, wherein each interlocking tile caninclude an upward-facing surface comprising a plurality of through holeopenings, the upward facing surface having a coefficient of friction ofat least about 0.47 under European standard EN 13865. A system of markedregions can extend across the upward facing surface to indicate gameboundaries for at least one sports game.

In some cases, the plurality of interlocking tiles can comprise outerdimensions defining a pickleball or tennis court (or another paddlesport), and the system of marked regions can define boundaries forpickleball or tennis (or the other paddle sport). The sports court canalso include a second plurality of tiles connected to the plurality ofinterlocking tiles external to game boundaries for the at least onesports game, and the second plurality of tiles can have a lessercoefficient of friction under European Standard EN 13865 as compared tothe plurality of interlocking tiles. The plurality of interlocking tilescan comprise a set of male portions configured to be received by a setof female portions to attach the tiles to each other. At least some maleportions of the set of male portions can be vertically elongated andreceived vertically by respective female portions of the set of femaleportions. The plurality of interlocking tiles can have a court pacerating of less than about 62.

The above summary of the present invention is not intended to describeeach embodiment or every implementation of the present invention. TheFigures and the detailed description that follow more particularlyexemplify one or more preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings and figures illustrate a number of exemplaryembodiments and are part of the specification. Together with the presentdescription, these drawings demonstrate and explain various principlesof this disclosure. A further understanding of the nature and advantagesof the present invention may be realized by reference to the followingdrawings. In the appended figures, similar components or features mayhave the same reference label.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the top of a modular floor panel.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the bottom of the modular floor panel ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a detail top view of a corner of the modular floor panel ofFIG. 1, as indicated by the box in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a corner of the modular floor panel ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the corner of the floor tile, as indicated bythe box in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a detailed perspective view of a bottom side of the corner ofthe floor panel.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a plurality of floor panels arranged asa sports playing area or court.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a plurality of floor panels arranged asanother embodiment of a sports playing area or court.

While the embodiments described herein are susceptible to variousmodifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have beenshown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detailherein. However, the exemplary embodiments described herein are notintended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, theinstant disclosure covers all modifications, equivalents, andalternatives falling within the scope of the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Typical modular flooring is not well-suited for reproducing a sportsplaying area surface used for some sports such as tennis and pickleball.The conventional floor tiles are made of hard plastic, and when theycome into contact with the hard plastic ball, such as a pickleball, thebouncing behavior of the ball is unexpected because of sliding thatoccurs between the ball and the tile when they come into contact witheach other. As a result, the speed of the ball may be undesirably toofast when it rebounds from those types of tiles when they are arrangedand used as a sports playing area. By comparison, with a conventionalsports playing area for pickle balls, the asphalt (or other moreresilient and/or higher-friction surfaces) more forcefully grips theball when it contacts the court, thereby slowing down the ball speed onrebound and allowing for greater angle of return.

The present disclosure describes apparatuses, systems, and methods thatprovide a sports system that helps to reproduce bouncing behavior of agame ball on a conventional sports court while simultaneously providingthe many advantages that come with deployable, interlocking, modularfloor tiles. Accordingly, the systems, methods, and apparatusesdescribed herein can be used to reversibly modify play surfaces, to addnew play surface characteristics to other types of sports playing areaand support surfaces, to improve the look and feel of existing playsurfaces, to improve acoustics, aesthetics, and safety features ofexisting play surfaces, and more.

To this end, aspects of the present disclosure relate to a sports systemincluding a rigid support surface, such as a generally flat concreteslab, asphalt, court, or floor material. A rigid floor tile (e.g., amodular floor panel) can be positioned on the rigid support surface, anda game piece can be configured to come into contact with the rigid floortile while playing a game with the sports system. The game piece cancomprise a ball such as a pickleball, a tennis ball, a wiffleball, agolf ball, a ping pong ball, or other game piece used to play a game orsport with the sports system. The game piece can therefore in some casesbe substantially spherical and/or substantially rigid. The game pieceand/or the rigid floor tile can have a material composition that causesa first coefficient of friction (measured between the game piece and therigid floor tile) to be greater than a second coefficient of friction(measured between the game piece and the rigid support surface). Forexample, a game ball can have increased friction when bouncing againstthe floor tile than when it bounces similarly against a traditionalsupport surface such as asphalt or concrete. The increased frictionbetween the game piece and the tile can affect the bouncecharacteristics of the game piece in ways that would not be possible ifthe game piece simply bounced on the support surface.

In some embodiments, the material composition of the game piece and/orthe rigid floor tile can comprise, at least in part, an elastomeric orrubberized material that increases the grip of the game piece to thefloor tile as compared to the support surface. Thus, in some cases, thematerial composition can be used in a top or upward-facing surface ofthe floor tile and/or in the body and other structures of the floortile. In some embodiments, the material composition can comprise apolymer component, a ceramic component, and a rubber component. Forexample, the material composition can include copolymer propylene, asilica material, and a grip-enhancing material. The grip enhancingmaterial can comprise a thermoplastic vulcanizate (e.g., SANTOPRENE™),an olefinic-based rubber, a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) elastomer,or a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material. In one case, the materialcomposition can comprise between about 50% to about 60% copolymerpolypropylene, about 20% to about 30% glass fiber, bubbles, or powder,and about 10% to about 20% grip-enhancing material. Other minorcomponents can also be included about 1% to about 3% of the composition.

These rigid polyolefin compositions can have an enhanced tactileexperience, high structural rigidity, improved weatherability, a softlook and feel, increased comfort, a wide range of possible colors, goodchemical resistance, low odor, UV stability, and improved designcharacteristics. The material composition can also be injection moldedto generate the modular floor panels or game pieces. In embodimentswhere the game piece and floor tile both comprise an increased-frictionmaterial, the speed of the game piece as it bounces from the floor tilecan be significantly reduced as compared to embodiments where only oneor neither component comprise the increased-friction material. Thus,embodiments with both a game piece and tile comprising increasedfriction can be beneficial to aged or otherwise less athletic sportsplayers, or for use in games where movement of the game piece isgenerally intended to be at a slower pace.

In some embodiments, the coefficient of friction of the floor tile (orthe support surface) can be measured under the testing conditionsestablished as European Standard EN 13865 (entitled, “Surfaces forsupport areas-Determination of angled ball behavior-Tennis”). Forexample, the coefficient of friction can be measured under CSN EN13865:2017 as published by the European Committee for Standardization;CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Avenue Marniz 17, B-1000 Brussels (2017),which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety and isappended to the present disclosure as Appendix 1. Under this standard,in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure, thecoefficient of friction of the floor tile can be measured to be at least0.47, and the coefficient of friction of the support surface can be lessthan 0.47. In some embodiments, the coefficient of friction can be about0.51 or greater. In some embodiments, the coefficient of friction can bewithin a range of about 0.45 to about 0.70. In some embodiments, thecoefficient of friction can be within a range of about 0.42 to about0.52. Under the same European measurement standard, in some embodiments,the coefficient of restitution of the floor tile can be at least 0.76(and, in some cases, can be at least about 0.81 or can be within a rangeof about 0.76 to about 0.84), the angle out measurement can be about15.9 (and, in some cases, can be in a range of at least about 15.1 toabout 16.7), the court pace rating can be less than about 62 (and insome cases less than about 50), and the bounce force can be reduced byat least 5 percent. Slip resistance of the floor panel can be about 115when dry and 54 when wet, as determined under European Standard EN13036-4 (i.e., DIN EN 13036-4, “Road and airfield surfacecharacteristics—Test methods—Part 4: Method for measurement of slip/skidresistance of a surface—The pendulum test” (2011), which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety and appended to the presentdisclosure as Appendix 2).

Accordingly, by adding the floor tiles to the support surface, thesports system can modify the support surface characteristics to be muchmore similar to a support surface having higher friction such as aconventional tennis, pickleball, or other paddle sports court.Furthermore, because the floor tiles can be designed with interlockingedges, the size and shape of the court can be easily designed,installed, and modified. The tiles can also include indicators of gameregions, such as painted lines, stripes, or similar visible featuresthat make it easier to quickly install and play a game using the sportssystem, to improve aesthetic appeal or durability of the court, and toimprove visibility of the game regions while viewing or playing thegame.

The present description provides examples, and is not limiting of thescope, applicability, or configuration set forth in the claims. Thus, itwill be understood that changes may be made in the function andarrangement of elements discussed herein without departing from thespirit and scope of the disclosure, and various embodiments may omit,substitute, or add other procedures or components as appropriate. Forinstance, the methods described may be performed in an order differentfrom that described, and various steps may be added, omitted, orcombined. Also, features described with respect to certain embodimentsmay be combined in other embodiments.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views of a modular floor panel 100according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 shows thepanel 100 as viewed from above the panel, and FIG. 2 shows the panel 100as viewed from below. The modular floor panel 100 can comprise asubstantially planar top surface 102 (i.e., an upward-facing surface)extending across a plurality of horizontal support ribs 104, 106. Thehorizontal support ribs can comprise a first set of ribs 104 thatextends perpendicular to a second set of ribs 106. The horizontalsupport ribs 104, 106 can extend between opposite edges 108, 110, 112,114 of the modular floor panel 100. The edges 108, 110, 112, 114 candefine an outer perimeter of the panel 100.

Intervening structural ribs 116 can be positioned within quadrilateralsformed by the horizontal support ribs 104, 106. The dashed-line boxes inFIG. 3 surround two sets of intervening structural ribs 116 arranged ina pattern between adjacent horizontal support ribs 104, 106. In someembodiments, the intervening structural ribs 116 can be removed oromitted. Further, the support ribs 104, 106 may be arranged in anypattern, and not only in a grid or other geometric design. The ribs 104,106, 116 and support legs (discussed below) can collectively form a tilebody or panel body that unitarily defines the main structural limits ofthe floor panel 100. The support ribs 104, 106 can be integrally formedwith each other, such as by being simultaneously formed together in aninjection molding process.

A plurality of openings in the top surface 102 can be formed by thelateral sides of the ribs 104, 106, 116, and the openings can bethrough-hole openings or apertures that extend through and providepassage of liquids and debris from above the panel 100 to a supportsurface underneath the panel 100. The openings can thereby help preventthe panel 100 from collecting rain, sweat, or other fluids or smalldebris.

Along some of the edges 110, 112, a set of female tabs 118 extendhorizontally parallel to the top surface 102 and laterally away fromtheir associated edge 110, 112. Among other edges 108, 114, a set ofmale tabs 120 extend vertically downward away from the top surface 102.The female and male tabs 118, 120 can be referred to as interlockableedge features that are positioned around the outer perimeter of thepanel 100. Neighboring modular floor panels 100 can have male tabs 120of one panel 110 inserted into openings 134 in the female tabs 118 of anadjacent panel 100 to join the floor panels 100 to each other, asdiscussed in further detail below.

The top surface 102 of the modular floor panel 100 can also include aplurality of surface protrusions 122 spaced apart across the horizontalsupport ribs 104, 106 and intervening structural ribs 116. The surfaceprotrusions 122 can extend upward from the top surface 102 and increasetraction and surface area of the top surface 102 when they arecontacted, for example, by a game ball or a player's foot or shoe. FIGS.3 and 4 show detail views of a corner of the top surface 102 with thesurface protrusions 122 spaced apart in a grid or dot matrix pattern andextending slightly upward relative to the top surface 102.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the underside of the modular floorpanel 100 that additionally shows a plurality of support legs 124extending downward from a downward-facing surface that is positionedopposite the top surface 102. FIG. 5 shows a bottom view of theplurality of support legs 124, and FIG. 6 shows a detail perspectiveview of the plurality of support legs 124 at a corner of the modularfloor panel 100 from below. The plurality of support legs 124 can extenddownward relative to the underside or downward facing surface 127 of themodular floor panel 100 (e.g., from bottom surfaces of the interveningstructural ribs 116). In some embodiments, the support legs 124 can beintegrally formed with the downward-facing surface 127, and in somecases, the support legs 124 can be attached to or inserted into themodular floor panel 100 as separate components. The support legs 124 cantherefore suspend the modular floor panel 100 and space it away from ahorizontal support surface extending below the modular floor panel 100.Additionally, as shown in FIG. 6, edges of the modular floor panel 100,such as edge 108, can comprise rigid, vertical support sections or wallportions (e.g., 128) to provide support at the edges 108, 110, 112, 114.

Additionally, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of additional support legs130 can extend downward from the downward facing surface 132 positionedon the undersides of the horizontal support ribs 104 and 106. In someembodiments, the additional support legs 130 can comprise a differentmaterial composition from the other support legs 124, and in someembodiments, both sets of support legs 124, 130 can have the samematerial composition. In some embodiments, the legs 124 or 130 can havea different material composition from the upward-facing top surface 102of the panel 100. The sets of support legs 124, 130 can have differentcross-sectional shapes and dimensions, such as the generally cylindricalset of support legs 124 as compared to the eye shaped or X-shapedcross-sectional shapes of the additional support legs 130. In someembodiments, the first set of support legs 124 can be positioned on, andextending from, the intervening structural ribs 116, and the second setof support legs 130 can be positioned on an extending from thehorizontal support ribs 104, 106. In some embodiments, the panel 100 canhave up to about 900 to about 1200 individual support legs 124, 130 in apanel having outer dimensions of about 12 inches by 12 inches.

Turning again to FIGS. 3 through 6, the female tabs 118 may includecentral openings 134 configured to receive the male tabs 120. Each ofthe male tabs 120 can have a pair of clips 126 configured to bepositioned laterally outside the female tabs 118, with protrusions 136configured to catch against ridges 138 on each of the female tabs 118.Thus, the interlocking tabs 118, 120 can snap into place by temporarylaterally-outward deflection of the clips 126 as the male tab 120 isinserted into the central opening 134, and then the protrusions 136 andthe ridges 138 can prevent withdrawal of the male tab 120 by deflectingback to the position shown relative to male tab 120 and engaging a lowersurface of the female tabs 118, ensuring a tight and long-lastingattachment of one modular floor panel 100 to another. In variousembodiments, different types of interconnection systems can be used tojoin panels 100 to each other. Thus, those having skill in the art willperceive alternative ways to attach, connect, or interlock panels 100together to form a cohesive sports court that is resistant to beingbroken or spread apart while being used. For example, in someembodiments, the panels 100 can be adhered to otherwise fastened to ahorizontal support surface beneath the panels 100.

By interlocking and attaching a plurality of modular floor panels 100together, the panels 100 can collectively form a sports court or othersupporting surface according to desired specifications, as indicated andrepresented by the sports court 200 in FIG. 7. The sports court 200 caninclude a plurality of modular floor panels 100 positioned on a supportsurface 202. The dimensions of the support surface 202 can be at leastas wide and long as a playing area 204 positioned within the sportscourt 200. The playing area 204 can include a plurality of game regions,such as 206, 208, 210 that represent boundaries used when playing atleast one sport on the sports court 200. In some embodiments, the visualappearance of modular floor panels 100 in the game regions 206, 208, 210can differ from surrounding modular floor panels 100, such as by havinga different color, texture, opacity, surface pattern, pattern of ribs(e.g., the geometric design of ribs 104/106/116), pattern of surfaceprotrusions 122, or other visual indicator to help further define thesports court 200.

The sports playing area 200 can also include a plurality of lines, e.g.,212, 214, 216, 218 that indicate boundaries and game regions (e.g., 206,208, 210) of the sports court 200 for one or more games intended to beplayed on the sports court 200. The lines can also have a differentvisual appearance relative to the game regions 206, 208, 210 or thesurrounding perimeter panels 222, 224, 226, 228 of the sports court 200.In some embodiments, the game regions and lines can be painted onto themodular floor panels 100. For instance, lines can be painted with atwo-component polyurethane for high visibility and durability. In somecases, the modular floor panels 100 can be formed with a material thatis dyed or otherwise manufactured to have a permanent, non-painted, anddifferent visual appearance relative to the perimeter panels.

In an embodiment where the sports playing area 200 includes pickleballgame regions, the plurality of lines and plurality of game regions candefine left and right service areas 208, 206, a non-volley zone (i.e.,kitchen) 210, a centerline 216, a baseline 214, and sidelines (e.g.,212). In some embodiments, a net 220 can be positioned over the sportscourt 200. The net 220 can comprise posts that extend through the sportscourt 200 or that are positioned outside the boundaries of the sportscourt 200, such as in the support surface 202 or another surroundingsurface. If the posts are positioned away from the sidelines of a playregion (e.g., 212), the net can be suspended from a cable, rope, pole,or other support that extends over and is suspended above side non-playregions 222, 224. Additionally, the sports court 200 can include aperimeter of non-game regions including the non-play regions 222, 224and end regions 226, 228.

The sports playing area 200 can comprise a plurality of modular floorpanels 100 that all have the same material composition or that all havethe same material properties. In some embodiments, the floor panels canall have the same material properties when tested under EuropeanStandard EN 13865. In other embodiments, the sports playing area 200 cancomprise a first plurality of floor panels 100 that are more resilientor that have higher friction and slip resistance as compared to a secondplurality of floor panels in the sports court 200. For example, a gameregions 206, 208, 210 can be made with higher friction (e.g., rubberizedor elastomeric) materials to desirably modify ball bounce performancewhile playing in the game regions 206, 208, 210, and non-play regionsand end regions 222, 224, 226, 228 can comprise lower-friction panels100. Thus, different types of floor panels 100 can be used for differentregions in the sports court 200, and the panels used in each region canbe tailored for desired ball performance characteristics of the regionin which they are placed.

FIG. 8 shows an alternative embodiment of a sports playing area 300 madeof a plurality of interconnected modular floor panels 100 on a supportsurface 302. In this case, the sports court 300 is arranged as a tenniscourt with gameplay regions including a service line 304 singles anddoubles sidelines 306, 308, and a baseline 310. The sports court 300also includes gameplay regions such as a left service court 312, a rightservice court 314, and a no man's land or non-service area 316. Asdescribed above in connection with sports playing area 200, the modularfloor panels 100 can be configured with colors, lines, paint, textures,or other visual indicators to provide or improve visibility of thegameplay regions in sports court 300.

In some embodiments, the sports court 200 can be converted into sportsplaying area 300 by removing some of the modular floor panels 100 insports court 200 and replacing them with panels corresponding to sportscourt 300. For example, modular floor panels 100 having pickleball linesshown in FIG. 7 can be removed and replaced by floor panels 100 havingtennis lines, as shown in FIG. 8, or vice versa. Similarly, modularfloor panels with game regions and similar indicators for playing areasof other paddle sports can be implemented in place of pickleball andtennis game regions and indicators.

Furthermore, according to some embodiments, the frictioncharacteristics, visual characteristics, or other material compositioncharacteristics of the modular floor panels 100 in one court can bemodified by exchanging those panels with panels that have differentfriction, visual, or material composition characteristics. Thus,embodiments of the present disclosure can beneficially enable a user tocustomize various different types of court characteristics in areversible, nondestructive, and relatively easy manner as compared tomodifying a support surface (e.g., 202, 302) directly. Additionally,floor panels 100 of the present disclosure can have materialcompositions heretofore unknown in the art of modular flooring to enablea greater range of customizations of sports courts, including frictionand bounce performance characteristic customizations.

Therefore, another aspect of the disclosure relates to a method formodifying, manufacturing, or constructing a sports playing area thatincludes positioning a first set of modular floor panels on a supportsurface and a second set of modular floor panels on the support surface,with the first and second sets of panels being interconnected with eachother and with the first and second sets of panels each having differentfriction characteristics at their upward-facing surfaces. The differentfriction characteristics can be implemented by using different uppersurface textures, different material compositions, different geometries,different coatings, or other friction-modifying processes for each ofthe sets of floor panels. The set of modular floor panels with higherfriction can be positioned in gameplay regions or in regions of thecourt where frequent contact with the game piece is anticipated, andpanels with lower friction can be positioned external to those gameplayregions or around a perimeter of the court as a whole. In someembodiments, the method can comprise changing one or more panels in thesports playing area from a lower friction panel to a higher frictionpanel, or vice versa. For instance, the method can include changing thesize or dimensions of a higher friction area of the sports court so thata greater or lesser size or dimension high friction area is present inthe sports playing area by exchanging floor tiles or panels. In somecases, the change in the area of the higher friction panels can causethe court to have higher friction areas that correspond to differentstandardized court sizes for different sports, such as different typesof paddleball sports (e.g., tennis and pickleball). Methods can alsoinclude applying or positioning lines or other boundary indicators onthe top surface of the first set of modular floor panels, such as linesdefining boundaries for a game to be played on the court. Adjusting thepositioning or ratio of the first and second sets of panels can alsocause the lines are boundary indicators to be changed, resized, oradjusted to accommodate additional or different sports.

Various inventions have been described herein with reference to certainspecific embodiments and examples. However, they will be recognized bythose skilled in the art that many variations are possible withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the inventions disclosed herein,in that those inventions set forth in the claims below are intended tocover all variations and modifications of the inventions disclosedwithout departing from the spirit of the inventions. The terms“including:” and “having” come as used in the specification and claimsshall have the same meaning as the term “comprising.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A sports system, comprising: a rigid supportsurface; a rigid floor tile positioned on the rigid support surface; anda game piece configured to come into contact with the rigid floor tilewhile playing a game with the sports system; wherein the game piece orthe rigid floor tile comprises a material composition causing a firstcoefficient of friction between the game piece and the rigid floor tileto be greater than or equal to a second coefficient of friction betweenthe game piece and the rigid support surface.
 2. The sports system ofclaim 1, further comprising: a plurality of additional rigid floor tileshaving the material composition and arranged in a shape of a pickleballcourt; and a set of visual indicators defining boundaries of thepickleball court on the plurality of additional rigid floor tiles;wherein the game piece comprises a pickleball; wherein the firstcoefficient of friction is at least 0.47 under European Standard EN13865; wherein the rigid floor tile is attached to the plurality ofadditional rigid floor tiles; and wherein the rigid floor tile comprisesa plurality of support legs in contact with the rigid support surface.3. The sports system of claim 1, wherein the floor tile and the gamepiece both comprise the material composition.
 4. The sports system ofclaim 1, wherein the material composition comprises copolymer propylene,a silica material, and a grip-increasing material.
 5. The sports systemof claim 1, wherein the game piece is substantially rigid andsubstantially spherical.
 6. The sports system of claim 1, wherein thefirst coefficient of friction is at least 0.47 under European StandardEN
 13865. 7. A modular floor tile, comprising: a tile body including: aplurality of openings extending through the tile body; an outerperimeter; a plurality of interlockable edge features positioned aroundthe outer perimeter; a substantially planar upward-facing surface; aplurality of support legs extending downward relative to theupward-facing surface to contact a planar support surface beneath thetile body; and a partially rubberized material composition at theupward-facing surface.
 8. The modular floor tile of claim 7, wherein thematerial composition comprises copolymer propylene, a silica material,and a grip-increasing material.
 9. The modular floor tile of claim 8,wherein the material composition includes about 50 to about 60 percentcopolymer polypropylene, about 20 to about 30 percent glass-oxide, andabout 10 to about 20 percent grip-increasing material.
 10. The modularfloor tile of claim 7, wherein a coefficient of friction of the materialcomposition is at least 0.42 under European Standard EN
 13865. 11. Themodular floor tile of claim 10, wherein a coefficient of restitution atthe upward-facing surface is about 0.80 under European Standard EN13865.
 12. The modular floor tile of claim 10, wherein an angle outmeasurement at the upward-facing surface is about 15.9 under EuropeanStandard EN
 13865. 13. The modular floor tile of claim 7, wherein acourt pace rating of the tile body is less than about
 62. 14. Themodular floor tile of claim 7, wherein the material composition reducesbounce force by at least 5 percent.
 15. A sports floor, comprising: aplurality of interlocking tiles, wherein each interlocking tile includesan upward-facing surface comprising a plurality of through-holeopenings, the upward-facing surface having a coefficient of friction ofat least about 0.42 under European Standard EN 13865; wherein a systemof marked regions extends across the upward-facing surface to indicategame boundaries for at least one sports game.
 16. The sports floor ofclaim 15, wherein the plurality of interlocking tiles comprises outerdimensions defining a paddle sports court, and wherein the system ofmarked regions defines boundaries for a paddle sport.
 17. The sportsfloor of claim 15, further comprising a second plurality of tilesconnected to the plurality of interlocking tiles external to gameboundaries for the at least one sports game, the second plurality oftiles having a lesser coefficient of friction under European Standard EN13865 as compared to the plurality of interlocking tiles.
 18. The sportsfloor of claim 15, wherein the plurality of interlocking tiles comprisesa set of male portions configured to be received by a set of femaleportions to attach the plurality of interlocking tiles to each other.19. The sports floor of claim 18, wherein the male portions arevertically elongated and received vertically by respective femaleportions of the set of female portions.
 20. The sports floor of claim15, wherein a court pace rating of the plurality of interlocking tilesis less than about 62 under European Standard EN 13865.